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The summer jewellery design competition is now on and people are beginning to submit their awesome laser cut jewellery ideas. DSCulp has submitted a design that caught my eye called Nautilus Earrings. The design was very much inspired by nature, he says “the nautilus has survived relatively unchanged for the last 500 million years and is known for its unique and beautiful shell. This shell presents one of the finest natural examples of a logarithmic spiral. This same spiral shows itself in the construction of storms, the arms of galaxies, the behaviour of insects and birds, the blooming of a flower and even the nerves of the human cornea. It is for this reason that it is sometimes referred to as ‘God’s Fingerprint’ and perhaps why it resonates so strongly as a symbol of beauty.”

I look forward to seeing some more inspirational laser cut jewellery designs as the deadline approaches. Find out how to submit your design here.

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This weeks Product of the Week is from DSCulp and I really love it. I’ll let him describe why he came up with it:

The Monarch butterfly truly is an inspirational creature. Like most butterflies these beautiful and delicate creatures usually have an adult lifespan of only four to six weeks. But once a year, a special generation is born; one with a mission. Somehow these chosen few manage to fly over 2000 miles, to congregate in a place they have never seen before; a remote region in the Mexican mountains. There, by the millions they wait for the warm breezes that will awaken them and signal their journey home. Scientists cannot explain this miraculous journey.

The monarchs were a part of my childhood. We collected the caterpillars and watched them emerge from their jewel-like chrysalis. Watching them fight the breezes they inspired me with their delicate tenacity.

It seemed natural to me that some 30 years later they would re-emerge in my life and take this new form.

A layer of shimmering copper foil is sandwiched between 3mm black acrylic. Laser cutting and etching create the delicate patterns of the wings.

Brooch is 74mm x 47mm (approx 3″x 1.75″) and each is signed and numbered.

Limited edition of 100.

Brilliant stuff! Congratulations DSCulp for being the Ponoko Product of the Week.

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This week’s Ponoko Product of the week is somewhat bizarre. But it’s also a little bit inspiring as well.

It’s the Reef Ring from Reefhugger. Reefhugger says she is new to making things but describes her Reef Ring below:
banking on the awesome factor of whoever created this concept (i first saw it on etsy), i tried my hand at a scape ring, this time using the beloved subject of a coral reef. the sponge has been slightly cut off in the photo but you get the idea. now for more colors!

A scape ring is definitely a neat idea. I hope someone is inspired to do one for the Golden Gate Bridge. Congratulations Reefhugger on being the Ponoko Product of the Week.

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I personally love this week’s Ponoko Product of the Week. For me there is nothing that combines design, beauty, and often one person’s dedication to their love than seeing a well-crafted hot rod. So to see a piece of jewelery that celebrates that is very exciting.

The piece comes from Hioctane Jewelery run by Alicia & Brad, out of Oceanside, CA and they describe it below:
This is a Revvv’d up Hot Rod Roadster Necklace. This piece is laser cut and etched 3mm black acrylic. The piece is then assembled with Sterling silver chain and clasp. Roadster is 2 3/4″ wide. This is a piece that every Hot Rod enthusiast will want.

Great work Hioctane! And Congratulations on being the Ponoko Product of the Week.

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This week’s Product of the Week comes from Reed Wade. Reed lives in Wellington, New Zealand (officially known as Wellywood by those in the know) and this is his first attempt on Ponoko. I love this because it reminds me of a toy I had as a kid. I also think it’s an interesting way to combine 2D materials to make a 3D object. Here’s Reed’s description:

A segmented snake-like creature. This is my first Ponoko item and the press to fit worked much better than I had expected. The connecting segments are just tight enough that you have to twist them in and after a few turns they’re just loose enough to give snake friend a pleasing movement.

Reed is sharing this .eps for free with All Rights Reserved. What that means is that you are are free: To make a product based on the product plan, but you cannot modify the plan or re-sell it. And under the following condition: That the creator or licensor retains full copyright for the work.

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Thanks to Ponoko Designer Jimmy again for this week’s Product of the Week. I have to say I really like Jimmy’s taste. This is a spectacular lamp! Designed by Cindy Harnett it’s available as a free .eps in her showroom. Here’s how Cindy describes it:
Carbon is a snap-together construction set of hexagons, pentagons and connectors to build open and closed 3-dimensional surfaces from 1mm thick styrene.
Details of the connectors are highlighted when a Carbon capsule is used as a low-wattage lamp shade (pictured).
Suggestion if using the eps file: there are multiple copies of three different shapes; decide how many hexagons/pentagons/connectors you need and cut and paste them onto a new sheet, keeping edges of adjacent shapes at least 3mm apart.

Congratulations Cindy on a really unique lamp and on being the Ponoko Product of the Week.

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This week’s Product of the Week was picked by our very own designer/developer Jimmy. Jimmy confessed that this product grabbed his attention when he did his pre-job interview company research on Ponoko. Talk about a bonus for us!

I also like it too because, as a father, I enjoy things that make my kids happy – and this would make any little tot giggle away. Best of all, if it keeps him occupied for at least 15 minutes, that’s a sell for me!

Pepe Rock is created by STUFF (aka Natasha Perkins) who describes herself as a “Left-handed twin, of Te Whanau-a-Apanui descent, that grew up on a farm next to a quirky coastal village in New Zealand.” And her favorite materials are “anything with a sustainable ethos in its growth/production/making/manufacture /finishing/use/reuse/longevity/recycling/disposal”.

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Product of the Week this week is an exquisitely beautiful piece of furniture that really showcases the intricacy that laser cutting is capable of achieving from Hannah Gardiner. Hannah is a Graphic Designer but she does a lot more than just print design. Everything from “concepts, design, illustration, and copywriting to painting, cutting out, colouring in, sawing, stitching, hammering and gluing”. Here is Hannah’s description on the table:
“The Lissabon coffee table is a mix of good old utilitarian hardboard with decorative Portuguese inspired patterns. Tight interlocking pieces mean you don’t need glue to put it together. Sealed with clear varnish. You can order the table with this tabletop design or get in touch with me for commissions. 40cm high x 80cm wide x 40cm deep. Also available as a bedside table – (46cm high x 40cm wide x 40cm deep).”

Well done Hannah, congratulations on being the Ponoko Product of the Week!

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Product of the Week this week is very different to last week. It’s a model Rotary Engine from Pete. While this isn’t for sale, you can email Pete through his “Contact the Designer” button on his product page if you are interested in this fascinating creation. Pete describes his experience on creating the model:

“This is my first ponoko test – i plan to build a working rotary engine model out of stacked pieces of acrylic.

So far Ponoko have vastly exceed my expectations and my model pretty much works straight out of the box.

I need to manually refinish the housings a little to provide proper clearance, and plan to recut the gears to make them mesh better, but i’m absolutely blown away by what i’ve been able to acheive in a very short space of time with this project”.

Pete’s buddy Tim Norton wrote about the model Pete created on the PlanHQ Blog, and how it helped him see exactly how a rotary engine works. Sounds like this would make a great gift for a kid who’s shown an interest in engines (or even an adult for that matter).

So well done Pete, and congratulations on being the Ponoko Product of the Week!

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We’re starting a new weekly series that we’ve decided to call (quite imaginatively really) “Product of the Week”. There are lots of cool, bizarre, and fascinating products being uploaded into the Ponoko Showroom and while we do regularly feature them on the blog doing it on a weekly basis we are hoping will create a few more regular fans for the designers involved. We hope you enjoy it, and you’re welcome to suggest future winners in the comments.

The Inaugural Product of the Week is (drum roll please)……
Marmalade Monkey and their Wooden Lace wearable art garment.

In addition to having one of the coolest name’s on Ponoko Marmalade has one of the most bizarre products, a wooden lace dress (what is “wooden lace”?). Here’s her description of the product and she has even more pictures in her showroom. I wonder if she can sit down in that?
“Wooden lace was one of my entries into the world of wearable art competition in 2007. It was a finalist in the Avant-Garde section. Inspired by the intricate patterns of William Morris’ tapestries and wallpaper I used the laser-cutter to construct the entire garment. Each panel features an etch of the tapestry and is hand sewn together to make the garment flexible”.